Glasgow 2014: DAY 11: Australia finish with a flourish, England and Wales take road race gold medals as Commonwealth Games come to a close



Australia's men have won every Commonwealth hockey tournament

By Steven Oldham MISS DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

Australia enjoyed a successful as the Commonwealth Games came to a close today, but still had to settle for second on the medals table.

The team from Down Under completed a double in hockey, with their men's team beating India 4-0 in the final, a day after their women beat England.

Their victory ensured Australia's 100% record in men's hockey gold is maintained - they have won every Commonwealth tournament since the sport was added to the programme in 1998.

They also regained the netball title from reigning champions New Zealand, winning 58-40.  Australia now have bragging rights in this sport too, having won three gold medals - one more than great rivals New Zealand.

They also picked up the final with David Palmer and Cameron Pilley picking up the men's doubles in squash, with Palmer picking up double gold, having won the mixed doubles with Rachael Grinham, with both victors  defeating teams from England.

Joy for husband and wife Chris & Gabby Adcock (Guardian Sport)

 

England sealed their place on top of the medal table by taking two more gold medals on the final day of action.

Husband and wife badminton players Chris and Gabby Adcock won an all English final in the mixed doubles, beating team-mates Chris Langridge and Heather Oliver 2-0. They became the first married pair to win the title and add Commonwealth gold to the national title they won earlier this year.

In this morning's first action, Lizzie Armitstead took the first gold of the day in the women's road race from team-mate Emma Pooley. The 25-year-old won silver in both the Delhi Games and London 2012 so this becomes her biggest achievement on the road.

Wales' Geraint Thomas wins road race (Team Sky)

Wales celebrated the final day with gold in the men's road race for Geraint Thomas, the country's fifth of the Games as they finished 13th on the medal table - the same position as in Delhi four years ago, but with two more gold medals.

Thomas - who also won bronze in the time trial - survived late drama with a puncture with 6km left to run to take gold ahead of New Zealand's Jack Bauer and Simon Thwaites of England.

Malaysia's women's double winners (Starsport)

Malaysia won both doubles titles in badminton to take home half of the six gold medals available in the sport, but even this impressive performance failed to match their success in Delhi.

Tan Wee Kiong and Goh Wei Shem won the men's competition with Vivian Hoo Kah Mun and Woon Khe Wei taking the women's doubles.

Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland wins silver

Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour lost to Canada's Michelle Li but still made history by being the first woman from her country to make a Commonwealth badminton final.

She was easily beaten in the end, but had the honour of picking up her country's 53rd and final medal of a record breaking Games as they finished in fourth in the medals table.

Glasgow 2014: DAY 5: Scotland guarantee best ever Games with bowls success, Jamaica take athletics gold, Malaysia enjoy best day

Scotland's history makers Alex Marshall and Paul Foster (@_dpaj)

MISSED DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

By Steven Oldham 

It was only a matter of time before Scotland beat their eleven gold medals from Melbourne 2006 given their successful start to Glasgow 2014, and, with six days left, they achieved this today with victory in bowls as Alex Marshall and Paul Foster won the men's pairs.

The pair romped to an easy 20-3 victory over Malaysia and in doing so secured their place in Scottish folklore as the athletes who confirmed a historic best for the country.

Libby Clegg's victory in the T12 100m in para-sport athletics was another milestone matched, as Scotland now have 33 medals from this Games - matching their best ever total haul from a single Commonwealths.

Nicol David playing England's Laura Massaro (@starsport_my)

Malaysia enjoyed their best day of Glasgow 2014 so far, picking up gold in both squash and badminton.

World number one Nicol David beat English challenger Laura Massaro to take the women's squash event while they again outperformed the English in the mixed team badminton event, meaning both David and the badminton team retain the titles they won in Delhi four years ago.

Kemar Bailey Cole wins the 100m ahead of Adam Gemili (@sportsnet)

Jamiacan gold medals are like buses; you wait ages for one then two turn up at once.

Predictably, both came in athletics - Kemar Bailey-Cole won the 100m, and O'Dayne Richards took the shot put.

Veronica Campbell-Brown had to settle for silver in the 100m sprint, with team-mate Kerron Stewart third. Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare won the race.

Welsh swimmer Jazz Carlin (Getty Images)



Swimmer Jazz Carlin became the first women in 40 years to win a Commonwealth event for Wales as she took the 800m freestyle.

She took her first Games title ahead of New Zealand's Lauren Boyle and Brittany Maclean and now has Commonwealth gold, silver and bronze.

This was Wales' third gold this Games  in three different sports - swimming, judo and rhythmic gymnastics.

English discus thrower Dan Greaves (@spogo)

England had another successful day with titles in the pool, squash and athletics.

Swimmer Ollie Hynd completed the grand slam and added Commonwealth gold to his collection, which already includes Paralympic, European and world titles, by winning the SM8 200m medley. 18-year-old Sophie Taylor took the 100m breaststroke final, having won her semi final and been the fastest in the heats. 

Discus thrower Dan Greaves secured his country's first gold medal in athletics by winning the F42/44 final ahead of Wales' Aled Davies and Nigeria's Richard Okigbazi.

Nick Matthew retained his Delhi 2010 title by winning an all-English final in the men's squash against team-mate James Willstrop. Peter Barker's bronze meant the English completed a clean sweep of the podium, with Laura Massaro also winning silver.

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DAY 5 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Northern Ireland edged closer to the top prize by picking up silver in the men's triples bowls competition
• Cameroon won their first gold medal of the Games, and first since the 2002 Games, as weightlifter Marie Fegue takes victory in the 69kg weight class.
• Singapore continued their dominance in table tennis, adding the men's team event to the women's title they took on day 4
• Medal table leaders Australia continue to add to their medal tally, winning gold in shooting and swimming
• Canada's Sultana Frizzell retained her hammer title from Delhi 2010 and beat her own Games record in the process

Glasgow 2014: DAY 3: Scotland equal best gold medal haul already, Isle of Man secure first medal, Wales beat Canada in gymnastics

Scottish flagbearer Euan Burton (@JudoScotland)

By Steven Oldham    MISSED YESTERDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

Scotland have already equalled their best ever gold medal haul at a Commonwealth Games in just three days.

The host nation now have 11 gold medals, the same amount they managed from the entirety of the Melbourne Games in 2006.

They won three golds in judo today, including flagbearer Euan Burton's last ever competitive match as a judoka.

35-year-old Burton went out on a high by beating Pakistan's Shah Hussein Shah in the -100kg weight class final, while Sarah Adlington (+78kg) and Chris Sherrington (+100kg) also won their competitions as the judo tournaments came to a close.

The home nations have been dominant in judo, with Scotland and England both winning six gold medals.

Para-cyclist Neil Fachie and pilot Craig Maclean won their second gold medals of the Games in the velodrome, coming from behind to beat the Australian riders Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett 2-1 in the tandem sprint.

Wales' Frankie Jones won her country's first gold (Getty Images)

 Wales waited two days for gold and then won two on the third day of competition.

Rhythmic gymnast Frankie Jones took a third medal in as many days, and it was also her country's first gold, as she won the individual ribbon event ahead of Malaysia and Canada.

A second gold followed in judo, as Natalie Powell denied Scotland a husband-and-wife pair of gold medals by defeating Olympic silver medallist - and Mrs Euan Burton - Gemma Gibbons in the final.



Isle of Man's silver medal winner Peter Kennaugh (Adam Gerrie)



Cyclist Peter Kennaugh helped the Isle of Man onto the medal table by winning silver in the men's points race.

Kennaugh - an Olympic champion two years ago as part of the British team pursuit - came second to New Zealand's Thomas Scully.



Australia's Commonwealth skeet champion Laura Coles (@InsideWAIS)



Australia now lead the medal table thanks to winning five more bronze medals than England.

Both nations have 17 golds and 14 silvers so the race is still very tight with strong events still to come for both nations.

The team from Down Under won their first shooting medals today, with Laura Coles taking the women's skeet and Daniel Repacholi winning the 10m air pistol event.

They also had further success in swimming and cycling and will look to sports like hockey, athletics and rugby sevens to boost their medal tally further.

New 100m breastroke champion Adam Peaty (@BBCmtd)

Despite being bumped down into second in the medal standings, England again had a good day.

The country's domination of triathlon in Commonwealth circles continued as they won the first ever mixed team event.

Fran Halsall and Adam Peaty both took gold and new Games records in the pool, in the 50m freestyle and 100m breaststroke respectively.

There was also success in weightlifting with Zoe Smith also taking a Commonwealth record in the -58kg weight class. The diminutive 20-year-old managed to lift an unbeaten total of 210kg.

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DAY THREE DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Mauritius win their first medal of Glasgow 2014, with Annabelle Laprovidence taking bronze in the +78kg judo competition.
• India lock out gold and silver in two shooting competitions, with seven of their seventeen medals coming in this sport
• New Zealand's all-conquering rugby sevens team were given a scare by the hosts before winning 17-14 on the way to topping their group
• The first bowls gold medal went to South Africa who won the para-sport mixed pairs event ahead of Scotland
• Malaysia's world number one squash player Nicol David is through to the semi finals after beating England's Jenny Duncalf

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Squash

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

Since debuting at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games in Malaysia, squash has quickly become a core sport at the Commonwealths and receives its highest potential audience at the Friendly Games.

Despite failed attempts to join the Olympic programme, squash remains a viable contender to eventually join the Games and was only denied access to the 2020 edition last year by the reprieve of wrestling.

Fast-paced, energetic and exciting, squash has been described as the ultimate workout - testing and exerting arms, legs and torso all at once.

WHEN?

With five separate competitions to get through, squash is set to be played on every day of competition from July 24-August 2.

WHERE?

Six new permanent courts at the Scotstoun Sports Campus in west Glasgow will host the preliminary matches, while the medal matches will be played on a purpose-built glass show court.

WHO?

England and Australia are the two traditional powers in Commonwealth squash, both taking home seven gold medals each. Could 2014 see either nation taking a lead for the next four years heading into the Gold Coast Games in Australia?

Nick Matthew is the one of the stars of world squash. The Englishman - chosen as his team's flagbearer for Wednesday night's opening ceremony - has won three of the last four World Opens and is currently ranked second in the world behind France's Gregory Gaultier. He already holds two Commonwealth golds from the Delhi Games in singles and doubles.

Pakistan have missed out on many Commonwealth golds due to the sport's late introduction to the Games. Janaghir and Jansher Khan dominated the game in the 1980s, but they have failed to live up to their past in the modern era. Only six countries have won Commonwealth tournaments (England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Malaysia.)

Malaysia were the last country to add their name to this list, with Nicol David taking the women's singles last time out in Delhi. She is well used to silverware - a seven time World Open champion in eight years, and is ranked number one in the world. She is back to defend her title, but may face competition from England's Laura Massaro, who will look to take momentum from winning her first World Open earlier this year.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Five tournaments at Glasgow 2014 - men's and women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles
• Squash courts are encased by four walls, with lines breaking the court into three - two service areas and the front half closest to the wall
• After service, the ball can hit any of the walls,  but cannot touch the floor after being hit before hitting the front wall, otherwise this player loses a point. 
• International squash uses the PARS scoring system - point-a-rally scoring, where the winner of each rally, regardless of serve, scores the point.
• The first to eleven points wins a game, with a two point margin needed, so games can't finish 11-10. Play continues until one player has a two point advantage.

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England flagbearer Nick Matthew in action (telegraph.co.uk)

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Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Diving

By Steven Oldham

Despite only being an optional sport at the Commonwealths, diving has appeared at every edition of the Games since the first British Empire Games in 1930.

Both men and women will compete in a range of events, from the 1m springboard to the synchronised 10m platform pairs.

One of the most visually spectacular sports on show at the Commonwealths, diving continues to grow in popularity in Great Britain, demonstrated by the 15.9m people who tuned in to watch Tom Daley win bronze at London 2012.

WHEN?

The diving happens from July 30-August 2 and medals will be decided on every day of competition, with the men's 1m springboard the first gold medal handed out.

WHERE?

Glasgow is not hosting the diving - instead the athletes will head to the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, which has previous experience hosting the Games - both in 1970 and 1986. It's been updated and renovated and brought up to the standard where it can host world-class events.

WHO?

Three countries have traditionally dominated Commonwealth diving - Australia, Canada and England. Canada topped the table last time out with five gold medals, but three of these were won by the now retired Alexandre Despatie - will the younger divers continue the Canadians' fine pedigree in diving?

They will be boosted by Jennifer Abel once again competing - she won the other two golds in Delhi, in both singles and synchro competitions.  10m synchro pair Roseline Fitton and Meaghan Benefito will also be looking to add to their Commonwealth medal collection, after taking bronze in Melbourne eight years ago.

Olympic champion and four time Commonwealth silver medallist Matthew Mitcham leads the Australian contingent in Edinburgh this summer. 10m synchro champion Melissa Wu also returns, with 15-year-old Georgia Sheehan making her senior team debut.

To say England are a one-man team is wrong, there is real strength in depth. Double Commonwealth champion Daley does return and is likely to be one of the stars of the Games again, but the English will be disappointed if they don't improve on the two medals they won in Delhi.

Chris Mears and Jack Laugher head in to the tournament as the leading Commonwealth pairing in the 3m synchro having placed fifth in the World Cup in Shanghai, with Laugher also taking individual bronze in the same event.

Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow are also expected to do well in the 10m synchro, but face tough competition from Australia, Canada and Malaysia's pairs, who all finished ahead of the English pair in Shanghai earlier this week.

Yona Knight-Wisdom is also set to become Jamaica's first ever diver to compete at the Games.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Dives are taken from one of three heights - 1m or 3m on the springboard, or 10m on the platform
• The single events feature qualifiers with the top 12 advancing to the final. The synchro events are just finals.
• Points are earned for two elements of a dive - the execution and the difficulty of the dive. A panel of judges hand out the marks.
• Style is important - every diver is aiming for the coveted 'rip entry' into the water - with minimal splash. Belly flops are not cool.
• Zimbabwe, no longer a Commonwealth member, were the last country other than the big three and Malaysia to medal at the Games - way back in 1998 when Evan Stewart won gold in the 1m springboard.

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Can England's Jack Laugher repeat his World Cup medal success?
(zimbio.com)

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Badminton

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

Badminton is a long-standing sport at the Commonwealths having debuted in Kingston, Jamaica back in 1966.

The sport is highly popular all over the world and there an estimated 200 million players across the planet be it professional, at school or on a Tuesday night at the local leisure centre.

Also an Olympic sports since 1992, six medal events will be contested in Glasgow - men's and women's singles, and men's, women's and mixed doubles and a mixed team event.

WHEN ?

Badminton is another sport that spans the whole eleven days of competition. From July 24-28, the mixed team event takes the stage. The singles and doubles competitions running from July 29-August 3, with all five finals on the last day.

WHERE?

All badminton tournaments are taking place at the Emirates Arena across six purpose-built courts.

WHO?

The traditional heavyweights in Commonwealth competition are England and Malaysia, and these two nations lie comfortably ahead of the rest on the all time medals table.

Malaysia have been the dominant force over recent Games, claiming six of the last ten available gold medals across both singles and doubles. However, this year they have been dealt with a blow with four-time Commonwealth champion Lee Chong Wei ruled out by injury. He is the country's most successful Olympian of all time and will be missed.

Seven-time and reigning national champion Rajiv Ouseph headlines the English team this year, alongside husband and wife mixed doubles pairing Chris and Gabby Adcock.

India emerged as a contender in their home Games in 2010, winning both the women's singles and doubles events and taking silver in the team event. Will they continue to grow as an international force in Glasgow or did they simply maximise on home advantage four years ago?

Glasgow-born Imogen Bankier is the poster girl for badminton in her home country  - she has won silver at the world championships and is also a European championship bronze medallist, both in mixed doubles. She will be looking to improve on her quarter final appearance in Delhi four years ago with partner Robert Blair.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Players take positions on opposite sides of the net, and use racquets to hit shuttlecocks over the net.
• Like other racquet sports, points are scored when the opponent hits the shuttlecock out of play or cannot return your shot - with the shuttlecock landing on their half of the net. Consecutive shots between players are called rallies.
• Matches are split into three games - the first player or team to score 21 points wins the game. If scores are tied at 20-20, a two points gap is needed to claim victory (23-21 for example)
• Outside the Commonwealth, the best nations include China, South Korea and Denmark. The Chinese are the most successful badminton nation.  

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Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei will miss out on Glasgow 2014
due to injury (allenglandbadminton.com)



Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Hockey

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

At the Commonwealths, hockey is one of the 'core' sports that must be included in every edition of the Games - it's been a fixture since 1998.

WHEN?

Hockey is one of the first sports to get underway on the opening day of competition, July 24 with two women's group matches. The men start a day later. The hockey tournament spans the whole eleven days of the Commonwealths with the gold medal matches happening on the final two days, August 2 and 3.

WHERE?

Much like the London 2012 Olympic Games, hockey will take place in a newly built arena at the National Hockey Centre on Glasgow Green. Hosting two synthetic pitches, it will accommodate up to 5,000 fans during the Games and will continue to hold domestic and international hockey having opened its doors last year.

WHO?

Ten nations split into two groups of five will compete in both the men's and women's competitions in a round robin format. The top two from each group advance to the semi finals while the teams in third, fourth and fifth will play their corresponding team in the other group to settle the final classifications.

The ten countries competing are Australia, Canada, England, India, Malaysia New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa,  Trinidad & Tobago and Wales. All countries will field both male and female teams.

Australia have been the dominant force in Commonwealth hockey since 1998, with seven of eight available gold medals going to the teams from Down Under. Only the Indian women have broken their hold, defeating hosts England at the 2002 edition. The Aussies will once again be favourites in Glasgow having won gold and silver at the World Cup last month.

Host nation Scotland have yet to medal in hockey at the Commonwealths with a best finish of 7th in 2006.

MAKE ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Teams of eleven compete in two halves of 35 minutes. The aim is simple - score more goals than your opponents. Substitutes are allowed with few restrictions. Players are not allowed to strike the ball with their feet if it gains them an advantage.
• Players often play more than one position depending on the state of gameplay at that time. The one exception are goalkeepers.
• Corners follow the same rule as football - if the last touch is off a defender once the ball is out of play behind the back line, the attacking team gets a corner. Similarly, free hits are like free kicks in that they are awarded for foul play - obstruction, using your body too much when tackling and so on.
• Hockey follows a three-stage disciplinary system - a green card is the least severe (a football yellow card), leading to a yellow card (a rugby union or ice hockey sin bin) followed by the most serious red card. Players can be issued with more than one yellow or green card, but not for the same offence. Repeated offences are punished by a more serious card.  

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#450652872 / gettyimages.com

Australia's men on their way to World Cup success in The Netherlands last month.

Glasgow 2014: One month to go! Elite athletes from across the Commonwealth heading to Scotland

By Steven Oldham

Today marks one month to go to the start of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the 20th edition of the Games and biggest sporting event held in the UK since the London 2012 Olympics.

A week ago, myself and the other members of Team 14 were set a challenge to mark the one month to go countdown with one word each, which we were to interpret into our blogs in the way we thought best.

My word is ELITE. As a writer, I thought the best way to use this word was to focus on the elite sporting talent that will be competing in Glasgow this summer.

Across many sports there are household names; Olympic, world and European champions; major tournament competitors with medals from countries all over the Commonwealth.

Here, I preview some of the big names set to compete in Glasgow one month from now. This list is not definitive, and further articles will cover all sports on show at this year's Games.

ATHLETICS

Olympic champion Mo Farah is heading to Glasgow (@BBCSport)

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah leads the English charge in track and field and will be a big draw for fans attending the Games.  The distance runner is the current Olympic and world champion at both 5,000 and 10,000 metres and he will be among the favourites to land yet another medal to his trophy cabinet.

Sprinter Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce is hoping to complete her medal collection in Glasgow - she's never competed at the Commonwealths before and the Jamaican team will be stronger for her presence. A superstar athlete, she holds two Olympic golds and five world titles across three different distances. As yet it's unknown whether Usain Bolt will compete in Glasgow but Jamaica have a strong pedigree even without the megastar. Like Fraser-Pryce, Yohan Blake has Olympic and world gold to his name and if Bolt does not compete, he could lead the island's charge up the medal table.

Grenada's Kirani James heads into the Commonwealths as Olympic 400m champion and will be looking to add to his medal tally here. He has a Commonwealth Youth Games gold in his collection and a senior title is a real possibility. His country have yet to win a gold medal at the Commonwealths but the 21-year-old represents their best chance to change that.

Over the same distance in the hurdles, Wales's reigning Commonwealth champion Dai Greene will hope to retain his title. The 28-year-old, who also counts world and European gold among his medal haul, will be looking to avenge his narrow medal missing performance at London 2012, where he was 0.14 seconds away from a bronze medal.

Australia's Sally Pearson is the proud owner of both an Olympic record and Commonwealth gold in the 100m hurdles and she will be looking to extend her reign over the rest of the Commonwealth. If she is still competing, the next Games are scheduled to take place Gold Coast City in 2018 - where the 27-year-old lives.

Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha will lead Kenya's quest for medals in Glasgow this summer. He is also an African and world champion over the same distance, and hold both world and Olympic records at the mid-distance. He will be key to his country's task of equalling or even bettering their impressive fifth place in the Delhi 2010 medals table.

SWIMMING

The home nation's poster boy is 25-year-old Michael Jamieson who is a silver medallist at both the Olympics and world championships in the 200m breaststroke. He was the star performer in a disappointing Games in the pool for Great Britain two years ago and has said he is better prepared for the Commonwealths both mentally and physically. The Glasgow-born swimmer is bound to get massive support from the home crowd and this may be enough to inspire him to a first senior title.

Michael Jamieson is one of Scotland's best hopes (@sportscotland)

Lauren Boyle will head the New Zealand team's hopes of glory in the pool - last year she won an impressive three bronze medals at the world championships in Barcelona and will be looking to add to her one Commonwealth Games medal so far - earned in the 4x200m relay in Melbourne eight years ago. She missed out on Olympic bronze in 2012 to Rebecca Adlington in the 400m.

CYCLING

The Isle of Man's Mark Cavendish is set to be one of the star turns in the cycling events at this year's Games.  A world champion in both track and road cycling, he also boasts Commonwealth gold from the Melbourne 2006 games and will be looking to again master Glasgow's streets - he won the British title in the city last year.

Many of Great Britain's all conquering cycling team will compete in Glasgow - Laura Trott, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Jason Kenny, Dani King and Ed Clancy will be among England's best medal hopes, while Geraint Thomas will fly the flag for Wales.

Anna Meares, London 2012 Olympic sprint champion, will also look to add to both her own and Australia's impressive Commonwealth medal tally - she has six medals from these events, four of them gold, and Australia are the most successful nation ever in the history of the Games.

Australia's Anna Meares (@EbbeIversen)

DIVING

London 2012 bronze medallist Tom Daley will head a strong English team in Glasgow which also includes world junior champion Jack Laugher and British champion Chris Mears. Hannah Starling and Rebecca Gallantree will look to match the expected achievement of the men's team.

Diving looks to be an area Canada could again do very well in this year, with a trio of bronze medallists from London 2012 leading their team. Partners Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito took third in the 10m sycnrho, an achievement matched by 3m synchro diver Jennifer Abel. The Canadian women have also excelled in the FINA World Series and head to Glasgow hotly tipped as the team to beat, having also topped the medal table in Delhi four years ago.

Canada's Meaghan Benefito could light up Glasgow (@Fina1908)

Malaysia won three medals in diving last time out, and will want to be on the podium again in Glasgow following their most successful games in India four years ago. Canada, Malaysia and Australia again look to be the teams battling for the medals in the women's events.

Other notable entrants include Australia's Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham, who has yet to win gold at the Commonwealths, despite winning four silvers last time out, and Leeds-based Yona Knight-Wisdom, who will make history by becoming Jamaica's first representative in the diving competition.

TRIATHLON

Brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee will be among the favourites for triathlon glory this summer. The Englishmen - Olympic champion and bronze medallist respectively - were two of the more unlikely stars of London 2012 thanks to being related and their three-way rivalry with Spaniard Javier Gomez, who stopped a Brownlee 1-2 two years ago.

As well as the Olympics, they have both won the World Triathlon Series, again trading victories with Gomez who sadly will not be able to continue his battle with the Brownlees this summer.

In the ladies event, current WTS chamion Non Stanford will miss out for Wales due to a stress fracture in her ankle, and the Welsh team's loss could be England's gain - WTS runner up Jodie Stimpson could be the woman to beat in Glasgow. Emma Moffatt of Australia - a two time WTS winner - and New Zealand's Commonwealth Games 2006 bronze medal winner Andrea Hewitt will be looking to stop her winning.

BOXING

Northern Ireland topped the medal table in boxing in Delhi four years ago and Commonwealth champion Paddy Barnes is back for another shot at gold in Glasgow.

Boxing was by far Northern Ireland's most successful sport in Delhi, with three gold medals from the boxers hauling the country up to 13th in the medal table.

Barnes, a double Olympic bronze medallist at light flyweight in both 2008 and 2012, is his team's star attraction alongside cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel, herself a world champion and Olympic and Commonwealth medal winner.

India had their best Commonwealth Games to date when hosting in 2010, coming second in the medal table. Like Northern Ireland, boxing contributed three gold medals to their tally and light welterweight champion Manoj Kumar has returned to defend his title. Bronze medallist Vijender Singh will also want to add to his medal collection having been eliminated by the now professional Anthony Ogogo.



Indian boxer Manoj Kumar (@JasvirLota)

Breakout star Nicola Adams will also compete for England. The first women's Olympic boxing champion could be one of the stars of Glasgow 2014 and could again make history as this is the first year women's boxing has been part of the Commonwealth programme.  

This is just a small selection of athletes who can excel in Glasgow this summer. There are always surprise successes - in terms of both athletes and countries outperforming expectations - who will it be this year? How far up the medal table will Scotland go with the 'home nation' effect factored in? There's only one way to find out - and it's now just one month away...